Southern California -- this just in

Brothers in Hollywood-based drug ring to be sentenced

March 5, 2012 | 9:31
am

Two brothers at the center of a Hollywood-based drug ring that moved hundreds of pounds of cocaine to the East Coast and brought back millions in drug proceeds via chartered jets is scheduled for sentencing Monday afternoon, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that the ringleader, Ricky James Brascom, 28, known as DP, was on the surface a rap music mogul and executive of Behind da Scenes Entertainment. His brother, Jerome Mondale “Bro-Bro” Brascom, 30, acted as Ricky’s top lieutenant in the ring’s Baltimore operations, according to prosecutors. The two have pleaded guilty to conspiracy, according to court documents.

The brothers were among 14 indicted in 2010 at the conclusion of the Drug Enforcement Administration's “Operation Snow Bird,” prosecutors said. Others charged along with the Brascoms included a second chief executive of Behind da Scenes, a DJ who traveled from coast to coast, and a pilot hired to fly the planes, according to prosecutors.

Among other things, the indictment alleged that on one day in September 2010, the brothers flew with $1.24 million in drug moneyin locked suitcases from Baltimore to Los Angeles. During a six-week period, investigators gathered evidence that the ring moved more than 850 pounds of cocaine and more than $4 million in proceeds, federal prosecutors said at the time of the indictment.

Along with cocaine and cash, authorities said they also seized as part of the operation two 2010 Aston Martin Rapides, a 2008 Mercedes CL63 AMG, and a 2009 BMW 750Li they said were linked to the drug ring.